barrio by mex out, 313@somerset.

excited to see a new mexican place at somerset, so i made C come along with me for dinner. being new, they had no website and no contact number for reservations, but i was in the area before dinner, so i popped by and requested to make a reservation. good thing i did, too, because the place was startlingly crowded for a sunday night.

café & meal muji, paragon.

muji café has never really been something i wanted to try. at least until my sister told me that it was nice and that i should try it. so, based on her recommendation, i came by for a late lunch with my friend. we managed to get seats easily even though it was a weekend.



i decided on the 3 deli set ($12.90), which came with one hot and two cold deli items and rice. got the mixed spice chicken, thick omelette and prawn & edamame salad. chose to top up an extra $1 for the ten grain rice. added an onsen egg ($1) for good measure, and ended up paying $14.90. my friend, who is more money savvy, figured out that the deli set actually doesn't make sense, because one hot and two cold deli items actually only cost $10.40- which basically means one is paying $2.50 for white rice, and $3.50 for the ten grain rice. to be honest i really didn't realise until she pointed it out (i was too hungry and just wanted my food).



the food was okay, i guess, but portions are so tiny! really wonder who they're trying to feed- not me after the gym, that's for sure. i did like the ten grain rice, but not enough to pay that amount for it. also, weirdly enough, they were out of a lot of stuff, and it wasn't even close to closing yet. my friend wanted the matcha cheesecake and the roasted tea pudding, but they were out.

doubt i'll come back, given the tiny portions and the fact that prices are on the high side. (i guess it's for people with puny appetites, like X.)

café & meal muji
paragon
#04-36
http://cafemeal.muji.com/sg/

saveur, purvis street.

after visiting saveur art at ion, i'd formed a pretty good impression of saveur, so of course i had to give their original outlet a try. happily enough chope was having a chope x visa promo, where one would get $10 off with a minimum spending of $30. that was as good motivation as any, so after making a reservation, i went over for a late lunch. it was surprisingly empty- by the time i ordered, i was the one of only about five occupied tables.



they had two foie gras dishes as appetisers, and the one that caught my attention was the one that came with apple and raisins, port wine and vanilla beans ($9.90). while it wasn't anything spectacular (and on the tiny side), i was quite satisfied with it, given its price. the sweet-savoury combination of foie gras with apples and port wine worked- i particularly liked the sauce it came with. it's not something i'd order again, though- would probably want to try the other foie gras dish.



i was thinking of ordering the pasta, since that's what they're famous for, but i'm really not a pasta person. in the end i just went with the duck confit, since that's the other thing that they're good for. i'll straight up say that i liked it, and i'd come back for it. at $14.90 it's a steal, really, especially when i compare it to the betterfield's version, which cost more. it was also much more delicious, with a gloriously light and crispy skin- none of startlingly fatty portions that i found in the betterfield's rendition. of course, saveur art's version is much more refined and well balanced, but really, for $14.90, this was pretty good.



it came with a generous bed of mash, sautéed mushrooms (which i loved) and orange segments (not sure why they needed the orange segments).

i also got cannellini beans with pancetta for an extra $3 as a side. while it wasn't anything particularly memorable, i found it to be comforting, given that it was served piping hot.

it's a place that i'd definitely go back to, especially for the duck confit. (seems like i've been having quite a lot of duck confit lately.) i found the food to be value-for-money; it's no wonder they've survived till now. the food, while not anything spectacular, was comforting, slightly rustic, and quite delicious.


saveur purvis street
5 purvis street
#01-04
http://www.saveur.sg

hoshino coffee, capitol piazza.

i've been to hoshino coffee at its first outlet at plaza singapura multiple times. i've loved their soufflé pancakes ever since i had it the first time, which was probably two years ago. at every single visit, i found that standards have been kept consistent. the 25 minute wait has also stayed largely the same, but i guess awesome pancakes are worth the wait.

X and i wanted a little more food after dinner at the betterfield, and were initially headed to clinton st. baking company (i was somehow craving their thick, fluffy pancakes). we called ahead to ask when was their last order timing, were told that it was nine. we made it there on the dot, but they told us the kitchen was closed, wasting our trip there. so hoshino coffee came to mind- soufflé pancakes are quite a good substitute, anyway.

headed over and quickly ordered the double pancake soufflé style ($12), with an extra $1.20 for matcha softee.



the service there was eye openingly bad, though. we were seated at a corner, and were made to feel completely invisible. i had to ask for water twice before we finally got it (after a really long wait). even then, the waitress plonked it down onto our table wordlessly and unsmilingly. that would've been the end of it, but our pancakes arrived without the softee we'd ordered. upon asking, we were told that it was unavailable (!), but we'd already been served the bill charging us for it. the waiter who served us scurried off after saying that it was unavailable, and we were left dumbstruck. X went over to the counter to ask if we could have the vanilla softee instead, and it was then that she found out that the matcha softee was, in fact, available.



thankfully, the pancakes made up for it. it was just as delicious as i remembered it to be. the melty knob of cream-lookalike perched atop the pancakes was actually whipped butter. it was salty, buttery and awesome (and i ate it all).

atrocious service like that makes me wonder why we have to pay service charge. if they don't want to serve us water, i'm perfectly fine with getting it myself- it'd be more efficient, for one. this is really one of my pet peeves- having to pay for service even when it's crap. i still love the pancakes, but i'll probably not go back to the capitol piazza outlet for it.


hoshino coffee
capitol piazza
#b2-55
http://www.hoshinocoffee.com.sg/m/index.html

artichoke, middle road.

i've wanted to try artichoke's brunch offerings for quite a while now, especially after seeing rave reviews. the menu (available online) was intriguing as well- it had a middle eastern slant, and none of the regular brunch stuff.

it was good that we'd made a reservation. it was a hot day, and they were running at almost full house, it seemed. plus, a lot of the tables were outside (singapore's weather is really not conducive for al fresco dining). happily enough, we were given a table inside.



i'd already made up my mind to have the lamb shakshouka ($26), so really, i didn't have much to deliberate upon. my sister, however, was torn between the cauliflower sabbich ($22) and the smoked salmon pancake ($24). having seen numerous rave reviews of the cauliflower sabbich, i convinced her into trying it. sadly enough, when we were ordering, we were told that they were out of the fried cauliflower, and would replace that with brussels sprouts. my sister isn't a fan of brussels sprouts, so she went with the smoked salmon in the end.



given that the place was crowded, i was bracing myself for a long wait for the food. the food, however, arrived really quickly (like within five to ten minutes), taking us by (welcome) surprise. i'm impressed by the efficiency of their kitchen- A LOT of places have to learn from that, really.



i ended up really liking what i ordered. the tomato based sauce was piping hot and flavoursome, while the kewpie yogurt gave it additional creaminess. the lamb shoulder was cooked till tender, and came apart easily. plus, they were really generous with the portion. i would happily pay for it again. in fact, if i were to come back (and i will), i'd probably just go with the same thing, because it was just so good. and that, i think, is the highest compliment one could pay.



like me, my sister was happy with what she ordered. i tried a bite of it, and agreed fully. the sweetness of the pancake surprised me, though- i was envisioning something more neutral. still, it was a sweet-savoury combination that worked well.



when we were done with our food, a waitress walked by with a huge slab of bacon. and of course, being gluttonous, we were tempted into ordering it. the moment the maple glazed bacon chop ($10) was put on our table, my sister commented that she could smell the maple. it was good, but perhaps just a little too fatty for my liking- i ended up cutting off some of the fat. i think that's just me, though.

service was friendly, efficient and attentive- our water jar was quickly replaced once it was empty, and they were generous with smiles. it's one of those places that i'd gladly go back to. not cheap, but worth it.


artichoke
161 middle road
http://www.artichoke.com.sg

the betterfield, high street, 2.0.

they've moved from their old location at waterloo, over to high street. my last visit was more than a year ago- meant to go back, but as usual, didn't manage to (because i got distracted). new location, bigger premises and a bigger menu as well. looked promising, and the menu was tempting enough for X, so we met for dinner there.

i'd made reservations, but i honestly wasn't expecting such a sizeable crowd. every few moments people would walk in, and the restaurant seemed to be running at almost full capacity. as a result, service seemed pretty haphazard, and i was bracing myself for a long wait for our food (and i was right).

having tried the beef previously, i decided to go for the duck confit ($22) instead. X chose to have the pulled duck burger ($21). we wanted something to share, and were tempted by the hot melted brie ($16) and one of the risottos ($22). eventually decided on the mushroom truffle risotto, because a whole wheel of brie sounded like overkill. (X wanted the red cheddar scallop tots ($16), but it came with a whole lot of tater tots (!) and i put my foot down at that.)





X's pulled duck burger came first, accompanied by fries and a salad. the sides were nothing to shout about, but she liked the burger well enough (but then she likes any pulled meat). from the bit i tried, i liked it well enough, but i suspected that my duck confit would taste exactly like it (and i was right). not a bad thing, though!



my duck confit came slightly later. while it did look good, golden brown skin and all, accompanied by an arty swipe of berry compote, i found the skin to be way too fatty. it seemed like they hadn't rendered the fats off the skin enough to get it light and crispy. i found myself scraping off the bits of fat underneath the skin.



couldn't help but compare it to saveur art's version, which i'd had recently. saveur art's one, with its crispy, light skin and accompaniments that matched perfectly, was far superior. i should've stuck to the beef. (did want to try to côte de boeuf, but there was a minimum order of 850g, and there was only two of us.)



glad we were greedy and decided to order three mains between the two of us, because portions were kind of small (even after sharing three mains, i felt peckish). the risotto arrived when we were halfway through our food. it was alright- not anything particular impressive, but good enough.

prices are nett, so i really shouldn't say anything about service. they seemed quite disorganised though, perhaps because they're newly opened. given that they don't charge for service and there's a counter displayed prominently, it seems to make more sense for them to get people to go up to the counter to order and pay there, rather than come around and take orders. it'd save us a lot of waving, anyway. i was expecting to pay the bill at the table, but we were given the bill at the table, and told to go to the counter to pay. but when i went over, it was chaotic, with everyone rushing around and no one at the counter to actually accept payment. i had to hang around and wait for someone to attend to me. kind of weird, really. they do have to work on getting more systematic.

i'd come back to try the beef again. they're still offering a set lunch, but now for $17.90. given the time we had to wait for our food, i'd probably only come over if i have time to spare, though!

the betterfield
100 high street
#01-03
https://www.facebook.com/TheBetterField/

kyushu pancake café, novena regency.

i was super excited to hear about kyushu pancake opening in singapore, even though i've never tried it in japan. but because, KYUSHU + PANCAKE! plus, they use some sort of special blend flour for their pancakes- seven grains, according to their menu.



made a reservation for a sunday lunch via email (i love it when i don't have to call). the place didn't look that full when we reached, but i was glad to have reservations after seeing people without get turned away. apparently all the empty tables were reserved! they even had a waitress stationed front of house to allocate people their tables. when we were ordering at the counter, i witnessed a couple come in and take a seat at an empty table, only to be chased away by the waitress who was halfway through taking our orders. granted, the place wasn't that big, so that probably also accounted for the full house situation.



i wanted something savoury, so i immediately zeroed in on the eggs benedict ($18), which came with their famous pancakes. my sister was oscillating between the $17 great carnival hot dog ("but it comes with fries and i don't want fries!") and karaage chicken waffle ($19). eventually she decided to ask if the fries could be replaced by something else- if not, she'd go for the karaage chicken waffle. they didn't allow any replacement, so she settled for the chicken. being greedy, we ordered the sampler platter ($15) to try as well.



(the woman taking our order thought we were done when i placed the order for two items- she was already telling me the total bill. sorry, we're gluttons.) we were warned that waiting time for the food would be about 20-30 minutes, which i was okay with since it was a leisurely sunday lunch. (and at least they bothered to give us a heads up.) the food came much quicker than we expected, though!



the first to arrive was the sampler platter. being greedy and ordering it was perhaps one of the best things we ever did, because the french toast on the platter turned out to be the best thing we had that day. the platter came with pancakes, waffles and french toast (basically all the carb variations they have on their menu) along with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, chardonnay wildflower honey and jam. i ate the french toast first and was blown away- it was soft, just sweet enough, and didn't even need any accompaniments. sadly, couldn't say the same about the pancakes and waffles. i was envisioning something akin to hoshino's soufflé pancakes (thick, fluffy and fragrant) but this was nothing like it. didn't take to the dry, hollow waffles as well. they tasted better paired with the jam, but i'm not really a jam eater (give me plain pancakes, any day). maybe the reason why the pancakes and waffles tasted so... light... was because they were meant to be a vehicle for the delicious jam...?



my eggs benedict came shortly after, followed by the karaage chicken waffle. liked that everything was served at around the same time- none of that here's my food but yours is not here dilemma. i'd asked for the hollandaise sauce to be served on the side (to the confusion of the waitress), so i had a little pot of the sauce instead of it being poured over. the eggs benedict came with a single poached egg, asparagus, tomato, bacon, a stack of three pancakes, and a side salad. it tasted kind of as expected, i guess. the pancakes were the same ones as in the platter, and they did work slightly better paired with the egg, but three still proved to be too many, and i didn't finish them.



maybe it's because it's been a long while since i've had fried chicken, but i really liked the karaage chicken (not so much the waffle). it was crispy, not oily (this sounds slightly delusional) and when my sister offered me another bite, i gladly took it. portions were pretty generous, too- the chicken spanned the entire dimension of the waffle!



given that they charge for service, service was pretty much nonexistent. when we were ordering at the counter, i'd requested for water. however, it didn't come until they served water to another table, happened to glance over, notice that we didn't have water and came over to ask if we wanted water (!). granted, the place is pretty new, so hiccups like these are perhaps to be expected. i'd come back (armed with a reservation) if i have a craving for french toast, but for the waffles and pancakes? nah.

kyushu pancake café
275 thomson road, novena regency
#01-08
http://www.kyushu-pancake.sg

saveur art, ion.

strangely enough, i've never been to saveur. i remember going to the purvis street outlet a couple of years ago, but we were turned off by the wait, and so, headed off to eat thai food instead. french food, i suppose, has never been high on my to-try list. i finally got tempted to try saveur art, the atas version of saveur, after receiving an email from chope- pay by visa and get $10 off with minimum $30 spent.



i made a reservation for a weekday lunch. it was smaller and quieter than i'd expected, but not complaining- all the more i could have a leisurely lunch. the $29 3-course set lunch was a pretty good deal, but i didn't want dessert, so i asked if i could swap the dessert for another appetiser. sadly, they were quite rigid about it. i still ordered the set lunch, though, because if i'd ordered the two items i wanted a la carte i'd have to pay more, anyway. coffee/tea was for an additional $3, so i asked if i could have coffee in place of dessert, and they readily agreed! so that was a bonus.



i got the egg confit (extra $2) for my appetiser. i was expecting to wait, but it was served almost instantaneously. a perfectly runny egg lay atop a bed of truffled potato mousseline, with toasted macadamia nuts and fried crispy bits for extra crunch. they weren't kidding when they said truffle, too. the mousseline was super smooth, velvety and creamy- i wiped the plate clean. i loved everything about the plate, except the fried bits, which were too oily. would've gladly swapped those for more of the toasted macadamia nuts, because they were yum.





service was pretty attentive. my plate was cleared soon after i finished it, and water topped up frequently. i got the duck confit as my main, since that was basically what they're famous for. and it was as good as promised. super crispy and light skin- i usually remove the skin, but this was so crisp and delicious that i ate it all. something so light and crisp should have no calories anyway, right? every part of the dish worked well together, from the roasted potatoes, bacon bits, slightly sour cabbage (reminded me of sauerkraut, actually) to the flavoursome jus.

black coffee was the perfect finisher to my meal. i enjoyed every bite, and now i'm curious to check out saveur.


saveur art
ion #04-11
http://www.saveur.sg

tai cheong bakery, takashimaya.

there is seriously a tart craze going around- first cheese tarts, and now egg tarts. while i'm not about to queue two to three hours for cheese tarts (i have better things to do) i didn't mind braving the queue for egg tarts, given that it was reportedly about half an hour. especially for awesome egg tarts! these are the ones that C hand carries back from hong kong for me, so i was interested to see if they were as good as those she brought back.



the queue looked deceptively short when i first reached takashimaya's basement, but i knew better. poked my head around and saw that it looked short only because it was separated into sections so as not to disrupt traffic. still, it wasn't too bad, though, so i joined it. time actually passed fairly quickly because... i was entertained by people who thought that the queue ended there, but then were taken aback when they were notified by a staff member posted there to join the queue behind. (and then there were people who got curious because of the snaking queue, and poked their head around wondering what it was for.)



the system was, thankfully, a pretty efficient one. the staff posted at the sectioned off part also did double duty as order taker. payment would be made later along the queue (cash only- which i thankfully had) with collection after that.





i spent the time being fascinated by them making egg tarts. they were making them right on the spot- filling the tarts with egg mixture, baking them, and taking them out of the tart case. (i never knew that the tarts weren't baked with the disposable aluminium casing- they had to take them out of the baking cases and then put them into the aluminium casing. all while piping hot.) they worked really quickly and efficiently- pretty impressive.



the tarts were literally fresh out of the oven when i got my hands on them, but i didn't have time to eat it on the spot. i brought it home and heated it up in the toaster later that evening, and it was just as good as the ones C brought back! i especially love the tart base- buttery, slightly milky, and crisp. totally worth the queue, given that i only waited slightly more than half an hour. (then again i went at an off peak timing- and was still surprised by the number of people there. don't people have to work?! okay, i know the same could be said of me.)

tai cheong bakery
pop-up, takashimaya food hall

keng eng kee seafood, alexandra.

technically not my first visit to keng eng kee- i went previously when my colleague wanted to treat us to crab. i was in charge of the googling that time, so my search brought us there. we'd made a reservation for a weekday lunch, so even though there were only four of us, we got an air-conditioned table. i remembered the chili crab to be not bad, so when my mum said she wanted crab (what's new), keng eng kee immediately came to mind. my sister called for a saturday night reservation, and was told that if we wanted a table, we'd have to go at 5.30, which frankly speaking, is kind of a weird timing for dinner. way too early for us to have dinner, so we decided to just show up at 6, assuming that it would be alright.

due to unforeseen circumstances, i ended up being the first to reach at 6. the chaos that greeted me at the restaurant (really more of a coffeeshop stall that has taken over the entire coffeeshop space) was alarming. i was really glad we'd made a reservation, because there were groups of people waiting around and queuing for a table. the staff was harried and the entire place was buzzing with activity. i had to wait around for a bit before i was even ushered to the table, and was told that i'd have to order immediately because the food would take about 25 minutes wait, and we had to turn over the table by 7 (!).

so after consulting my sister on the phone, i placed the order. the guy who took my order gave me raised eyebrows when i was almost done ordering, prompting me to ask, is that too much food? he squinted at his notepad, laughed, and said that it would be okay for the five of us if we have good appetites. that sounded about right, so i just went with the order.



the food arrived right on time at about 6.30, but some dishes didn't make their appearance until much later.



i'd wanted to try the mingzhu roll ($12 for six pieces) since the other time i was there, so of course, i ordered it. it was fried taupok stuffed with SALTED EGG YOLK, prawn, ham, mushrooms and parsley, but i could hardly taste the salted egg yolk. it was alright, but not something i'd get again.

for the requisite vegetable fix, i picked the chinese spinach with three eggs ($10), because eggs! to be honest i've never had this dish, though i know it's quite common at zi char places. i liked it, but then again i like most things with eggs. it was comforting, soupy, and best of all, not oily.



our zi char orders never go without the yam basket ($20) if it's available. my dad commented that it's smaller than usual, but i found it to be of an okay size. best of all, it was yummy! i liked how the fried yam basket wasn't too greasy (though that probably prompted me to eat more of it than i really should).



and of course, we had to get the moonlight horfun ($5), which is their signature dish. my parents, who are traditionalists when it comes to chinese food, said that it was a non-traditional version of horfun and expressed concern over the raw yolk perched on top. but then they cleaned out the dish anyway, so... i did remember it to be nicer the previous time i was there, though! much more wok hei, for one.

we ordered several other dishes- fried rice ($4) which my parents liked better than the horfun, cereal prawn ($18) and sweet & sour pork ($10). (didn't bother with pictures because i was too busy stuffing my face.) the food was good though, especially the super crispy cereal prawn- though my sister did get food envy seeing salted egg yolk prawn served at other tables. they even offer an option of deshelled prawns, but i didn't go with that- it's the crackly shell that adds extra texture and flavour.



but of course, the star of the dinner was the chili crab ($65/kg) which, fittingly enough, appeared last. i was too lazy to get my hands dirty (crab is way too much work for too little meat) so i only tasted the sauce. ordered mantous to dip into the sauce, because that's what chili crab is for, isn't it? instead of serving fried ones, they served steamed ones, which my colleagues didn't like previously, because it was way too soft. my family, surprisingly enough, liked the steamed mantous. kind of pricey though- i think they go for $1 each. my mum (who is a crab fiend) and grandmother basically cleaned out the entire crab between the two of them- the rest of us, like me, just aren't that into crab. she commented that the crab was fresh and pretty good, so i'll take her word for it.

of course, given that the crab only appeared at close to 7, we finished our food way after 7. no one came to chase us away (i think they were too busy) so that worked out fine. the bill came up to about $30 per person, which is quite reasonable given that we had crab. weekend dinners are a no-no without prior reservations, though!


keng eng kee seafood
block 124 bukit merah lane 1
#01-136
http://www.kek.com.sg/#!/home

gyuu+ yakiniku grill, emporium shokuhin, marina square, 2.0.

there was a 1-for-1 ocbc card promotion for their WAGYU beef buffet (usually $88++ per person), so of course i had to go. even though L isn't as much of beef person as i am, i still managed to cajole her into going- she is my fellow bottomless pit, after all.

annoyingly enough, they only have two timings for their buffet- either 6 or 8 pm, both of which are awkward timings. there's no way we could make it for the 6 pm one, so we just went with the 8 pm slot. we reached early though, thinking that perhaps they'd let us in if there was space, but they were rigid about it. no matter- we whiled away the time pretty quickly in marina square, wandering around. when it was getting close to 8, we slowly made our way back, and was stunned by the queue snaking out from the entrance.

turned out that there was even a queue to enter the restaurant, even with reservations. that's the first time i've ever seen something like that. plus, confusingly enough, there were two queues from either side of the entrance, and we were confused about which to join. even with our 8 pm reservation, we were only seated in the restaurant a quarter past 8. i think the restaurant caters for larger groups, so the tables were big, rectangular ones. as such, as there were only two of us, we were seated beside a group of four guys. no privacy whatsoever- we could clearly hear whatever they were saying, and i suppose, vice versa.

ordering was fuss-free. just like at tsukeru, over at the other side of emporium shokuhin, they take orders via ipad. the difference from tsukeru, though, was that orders took much longer to appear (especially for the meat), perhaps because the restaurant was running at full capacity. there was a point in time when we had nothing on the table at all, and we quickly learnt to replenish the meat whenever we were almost done. the grill was tiny, though! it was okay for the two of us, but i wondered how the four guys beside us dealt with it.



the selection available wasn't a wide one, but it was of excellent quality, and i suppose that's what counts. they only had three types of beef available- a5 miyazaki wagyu shin shin, USDA prime karubi and USDA prime sirloin, but that was enough. we basically ignored the sirloin and just ordered multiple servings of the other two- especially the thinly sliced wagyu. when L took the first bite of the wagyu, she started laughing (i'm not exaggerating here) and exclaiming about how good the beef was. and she's not even usually a beef person- given a choice of beef and other meats, 90% of the time she'd go for the other meats. and yes- she was right. the beef was awesome. my favourite was definitely the wagyu. towards the end, we stuck with just ordering the wagyu.



they did have pork, chicken, salmon and scallops, but we only ordered a bit of the scallops and pork- the pork belly shio, which came in thin slices, and the pork belly tare, which came in thicker ones. both were good, but nothing compares to the beef.



of course we had to have vegetables too, so that the meat didn't become too overwhelming. surprisingly enough, i think our favourite of the night was the sweet potato (i don't even want to think about how many servings of sweet potato we had). the sweet potato provided perfect balance to the saltiness and oiliness of the meat. it was especially good when it became slightly charred on the outside, giving it a crispness while remaining soft inside. sometimes, it's really the simplest things.

they had matcha and goma ice-cream for dessert (surprising, given that they charge extra for green tea and water), and L got the goma ice-cream. her description was that it was like super sweet sesame paste in ice-cream form, intriguing me enough to give it a try. and... her description was right on the money.

the food was really good- value for money given its quality, and i'd go back... if they're still running a promotion. the logistics, however, are a nightmare- having to queue even with a reservation was pretty ridiculous.


gyuu+ yakiniku grill
emporium shokuhin
http://www.emporiumshokuhin.com.sg/dining/Gyuu

wong kee wanton noodles & roasted delights, timbre+.

timbre+ has, naturally, been on my to-visit list since its opening. its concept embodies all the stuff i like- plenty of interesting food in a non-restaurant setting. the only thing that was stopping me from going there was its location in the west side. thankfully had some time on a weekday, and decided to head there.



made a loop around the place before deciding on wong kee- i've heard a lot of good things about its noodles and dumplings. (though, of course, i was distracted by other stalls, like dusk by slake. another time, perhaps.) to be honest, i was also half attracted by the queue at wong kee, which was shorter than i expected, perhaps because it was late for lunch (and also, the only stall to have a queue). i had time on my hands, so i didn't mind the queue, and besides, i didn't have to queue that long, anyway. there were perhaps six people in front of me, and i waited for about 10-15 minutes before placing my order.

while queueing, i was pondering what to order. i knew that i wanted the dumpling soup ($4) but i also wanted the beef brisket noodles. i did want to try the beef brisket, but i'm really not into carb-based dishes, especially after whole 30. so while in the queue, i'd decided to just get the dumpling soup and not be greedy. for some reason though, after i'd ordered the dumpling soup, i decided to be brave and ask the guy if only sold the beef brisket on its own. understandably, the guy went like !!! and consulted the girl who was cooking the noodles. maybe carbs are really unfashionable or something, but she got it straight away, and said, "you just don't want carbs, right?" so she special-ordered my dumpling soup by adding beef brisket to it, charging $6.50.



so glad i decided to be brave and ask, because the beef brisket was pretty good! (i would probably ask them to put the beef brisket separately next time though. the girl did ask if i wanted it separate, but i was already embarrassed enough about my order that i just said no.) i would definitely go back again, especially after they were so nice about my (seriously weird) special order.



the dumplings were even better. they were huge! its skin was silky smooth, super thin, and packed with a juicy, flavoursome filling. there were even bits of water chestnut and black fungus in it. one of the best dumplings i've eaten.

i'd definitely come back for more of their food. i've heard that lunchtime queues stretch up to half an hour, though, and that's kind of scary. i'd stick to the late lunch timing if i go back.


wong kee wanton noodles & roasted delights
timbre+
#01-06
https://www.facebook.com/wongkeewantonnoodle/

pimp my salad, pasarbella suntec, 2.0.

needed some food at suntec, and so, where else but pasarbella? it's come a long way since the first time i was there (so empty i was worried for its survival). it was super crowded when i was there- had a hard time looking for a seat even though i was alone. i only managed to get a seat by hovering around a woman who was almost done with her food (she was eating so slowly i was getting antsy, and yet i didn't want to seem rude by looking at her the whole time). patience paid off eventually, though! seems like pasarbella suntec is really not a place to linger during mealtimes- after getting my table, i was also annoyed by the korean couple seated beside me, who insisted on putting their bags on MY table- why?! i was half tempted to ask them to remove it, but oh well.
pimp my salad
pasarbella suntec
#01-455